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Question for working Mummies/ families- Family friendly jobs??

mintedby30?
Posts: 120 Forumite


I think I'm having a bit of an (early) mid-life crisis an looking for some views from those working around having young children.
What do you do? Can you do it part-time/flexibly or does it need you to have the kids in childcare? Does it pay decently? Are the hours family friendly? Are there promotion prospects even if you're only part time at the moment for when the children grow up and you may go full time? Was/is your career a factor in planning your family? Are you happy with the situation as it is or what would you change if not?
TIA, I appreciate how random this is
What do you do? Can you do it part-time/flexibly or does it need you to have the kids in childcare? Does it pay decently? Are the hours family friendly? Are there promotion prospects even if you're only part time at the moment for when the children grow up and you may go full time? Was/is your career a factor in planning your family? Are you happy with the situation as it is or what would you change if not?
TIA, I appreciate how random this is

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Comments
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Parents can ask for flexible working - it isn't guaranteed.
Wage is dependent on the job - as with any job regardless!
I know a lot of parents who work full time; childminders work longer and more flexible hours on the whole so are able to incorporate it - I know some who even work weekends.
It's very random btw - you might be better on a parent's site such as mumsnet, rather than a moneysaving one.
Most parents lose out financially if they were on a good wage previously by going part time - but childcare in the UK is extortionate to say the least.0 -
You might get more responses on the marriages, relationships and families board. I think you can ask for the posting to be moved, but I'm not sure how.
We chose to have one parent stay at home and the other (me) to work full time. Most of our friends are going to have both parents working, although some of the mums want to reduce their hours/days slightly. No guarantees though, as you only have the right to request flexible working, not the right to demand it.0 -
we both work full time (and then some lol) i work days and hubby works night so when the kids go to school he sleeps and then i have them in the evenings which means we only need childcare for the school holidays
i love having the bed to myself and then having him as a visitor and he loves having his set period of sleep completely uninterrupted. on a saturday when i work the kids go to grandmas or their aunt's so hubby can sleep we then have saturday afternoon and sunday as a family
family came before job so no real planning there lol
as we are both working FT there is no damage to promotion prospects
i think it depends on whether you have people who can help you with childcare rather than having to pay for it all the time that you are working
i understand what we are doing isnt for everyone but our kids always have a parent at home after school and a parent to take them to school the big one understands that we go to work to be able to do nice things on our time together as well as all the bills and the little one just loves seeing all the rest of the family so regularly
we wouldn't change how we are doing things at least for a couple of years this works well for us and we do really appreciate the time we spend together as a familyThe only people I have to answer to are my beautiful babies aged 8 and 50 -
We started with both in FT work & 2 in nursery, but that wiped Himself's salary, so while #3 was awaited, he put in for (& got) a Career Break & becames a "Kept Man". (Also I swung the national insurance benefit - 'home responsibilities' or whatever they call mothers' stamp these days over to him.)
All went pretty well, til the career brak was up, but he got part time term time work (civil service, god bless 'em). Then there was another reorganisation & he was made redundant, so we carried on with him as a SAHP just on my salary.
It's tight for funds, a lot of the time. However, the lads (now 2 teens & one smaller) have the best care money can't buy & a dad available! I'm much less needed than most mothers as the lads are used to having Dad there & he steps around growing-male dignities etc without fuss. (Lack of pratice & tact mean I'm a hazard...)
Thanks to the delights of flexi, I can work slightly longer days and then take a day off as needed or wanted without damaging annual leave. I make a point of having a couple of days in hand just in case anything bobs up that needs me as driver. Eldest has epilepsy & as he's growing like a weed, he keeps outgrowing the control dose. My well-informed manager is amenable to me disappearing suddenly if I can show I've the work either covered or planned for.
If you can get a civil service job, it's usualy worth the hassle & the mediocre pay & the (now very clearly defined) pension for the flexi!0 -
If you're looking for admin/officey work - all the way up to marketing, comms, etc - try a charity. I work in full time in the charity sector and my employers at the charity I work for are super pro-family. A large number of employees are new mums and so many work three day weeks or work from home. It's a really lovely set up - women don't lose their skill set/intelligence and ability to do a job just because they now have a child! The charity sector seems to understand this and so retains talent and still enables them to have a family life.
It's well worth looking at charityjobs.co.uk or thirdsector.co.uk - there's usually plenty of flexi time roles.0 -
We are pretty Lucky, My Wife works full time during the day and does have career prospects with an OK wage, This leaves me at home during the day to look after my 2 year old and my 7 year old in the holidays, I work evening's 3 days a week and weekends, Have no career prospects whilst doing this and the money is not great but the way i see it is i effectively get paid an extra 10 - 14k as i do not have to pay out childcare for 1 - 2 children, As i work until midnight i get a normal nights sleep, Just don't get a lot of family time but sacrifices have to be made when you have children and is well worth it.0
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